No.6 Bucs hang on for win

Defeat Waseca 22-16, improves to 5-0 overall

October 9, 2011

Blue Earth Area senior Brady Anderson had a night to remember after he and his Buccaneer teammates defeated Waseca 22-16.

The Buc quarterback led the team on both sides of the ball to outlast the Bluejays in a physical, back and forth affair featuring five lead changes.

Anderson threw for 194 yards and two touchdowns through the air and rushed for 101 yards and a score on the ground.

And that’s just on offense. He also led the team in tackles defensively with 13.

Although Anderson’s statistics stand out, the quarterback received plenty of help from his teammates to earn the hard-fought win.

Most notably, Isaac Darrington, who in his own right played exceptionally, catching six passes for 122 yards and two touchdowns.

The dynamic duo put the Bucs on the scoreboard during BEA’s first drive of the game on a 12-yard pass completion. Jakob Rintelen tacked on the extra point giving the Bucs an early 7-0 advantage.

After holding Waseca to one first down in the first quarter, the Bluejays offense gathered steam in the opening moments of the second quarter when Yves Spies nailed a 36-yard field goal to draw within four points.

The Bluejays took their first lead of the game with 25 seconds left in the first half. Zach Gehloff dove in on a 1-yard touchdown run and the point after attempt was good giving Waseca a 10-7 lead.

Waseca entered the red zone after a long gain on a flea flicker from quarterback Zach Hiller to Brandon Sutlief.

With little time remaining, BEA kept their foot on the gas pedal. A kickoff return to the 40-yard line and two crucial first downs set up a 34-yard bomb from Anderson to Darrington as time expired in the first half. Rintelen added the extra point putting BEA ahead 14-10.

Waseca bounced back with 4:44 remaining in the third quarter.

Wolfgang Dvorak caught a short pass from Hiller and displayed blazing speed for a 40-yard touchdown reception. The point after attempt was no good and the Bluejays took a 16-10 lead.

Blue Earth Area went ahead for good at the end of the third quarter when Brady Anderson capped a long drive – featuring multiple third down conversions – on a 1-yard quarterback sneak.

The Bucs faked the extra point when Carter Hanson received a pitch and worked his way into the end zone. The critical conversion gave BEA a four-point lead, eliminating the threat of another Spies attempt at a long field goal to tie the game.

After BEA’s go-ahead touchdown, Waseca took possession of the ball three times in the fourth quarter to no avail. Hanson intercepted a pass and BEA forced two turnovers on downs to escape Waseca’s homecoming with a 22-16 victory.

The Buc defense held the Bluejays to their lowest scoring output of the season by delivering punishing tackles the entire evening.

Anderson paced the team with 13 tackles but was followed closely behind by Hanson who recorded 10 stops and a crucial interception in the fourth quarter.

Other tackle leaders were Darrington with seven, Josh Johnson with six, Jacob Olson with five and Kysten Zierke with five.

The Bucs out-gained the Bluejays 376 to 289, but other statistics were strikingly similar.

Each team ran 59 total plays, BEA recorded only three more first downs than Waseca and both were efficient on third down.

For the second game in a row, the Bucs were extremely balanced on offense. BEA rushed the ball for 182 yards and threw for 194.

The win vaults the Bucs to 5-0 on the season and 2-0 in the South Central Conference.

BEA played St. Peter Friday in Blue Earth after the Register’s deadline.

This week, BEA will host Fairmont, Oct. 14, in the Battle for the Little Brown Jug. Game time is slated for 7 p.m.